[Official Release] AiMesh Firmware v3.0.0.4.384.20308 for All Supported Products

[RandomName23]

Also..if Smart Connect is only supported on a main device, is it better to not use Smart Connect at all

Shouldn't the GUI in the main router with aimesh indicate if a feature is not supported on some nodes? Like Smart Connect?

Smart Connect is a device specific function meaning it will only affect the device that you set it on. So, if you want band steering on your main device enable Smart Connect, if you don't want band steering on your main device don't enable Smart Connect. If you have Smart Connect on your main device but not on your node you will get band steering when your client is connected to the main router but you won't get band steering when your client is connected to the node. All it is doing is determining which radio on that device your client connects to. The only part that isn't really clear is if you had a main router without smart connect and a node with smart connect is it possible to enable smart connect on the node? Based on discussions I would say no. It seems like you want your most feature rich device to be the main router so any features have a chance of being propagated to the nodes.

I think we all would like to be able to see specifically what features are configured on the nodes in a GUI. For now we have to trust that if you set a configuration parameter on the master that it is the same on the node if the node supports that feature.

 

[gculley01]

Is anyone able to disable one of the radios on an AIMesh node? I can turn off my 2.4 GHz radio on the main router, but there appears to be nothing I can do with the node.
If I disable only that radio on the router then try to factory-reset/re-connect the node (hoping it will come up with that radio off) then it can't find the node until I turn that radio back on. Apparently both radios need to be enabled to connect the node even though I'm using an Ethernet backhaul.
It seems to me that, especially when using Ethernet backhaul, I should be able to turn off one of my bands, if not for just individual nodes then at least for the whole network.

 

[badbob001]

Has there been any mention of a future enhancement to allow aimesh nodes to use different wifi channels?

It would be nice if the system can automatically assign non-overlapping channels to each node based on channel bandwidth settings, area wifi survey, and maybe even node/client signal strength.

But I'm ok if we can start with allowing manual assignment of each node's channel.

Being able to set the Tx power per node/band would also be nice.

 

[RandomName23]

Is anyone having good results with 20308, i.e., no odd behavior, and transitions between nodes are seamless?

I was able to walk all around my house streaming Netflix on my iPhone while transitioning between nodes and no disconnects.

 

[RMerlin]

Has there been any mention of a future enhancement to allow aimesh nodes to use different wifi channels?

I suspect that might prevent roaming from working properly if your clients have to change channel each time they get disconnected from a node.

 

[maxbraketorque]

In this Case, Roaming Assistant is only handle when to kick off client and there is no any communication between Nodes.

Does that mean that RA is not needed if AiMesh is working properly?

 

[RandomName23]

Does that mean that RA is not needed if AiMesh is working properly?

No that is not what that means. Aimesh will not work properly without RA.

 

[gculley01]

No that is not what that means. Aimesh will not work properly without RA.

I'm afraid that I must respectfully disagree. My experience is that roaming works better when it's initiated by the client, not when the client is forcefully disconnected by the router. Using RA appears to simply deauthenticate the client and it's left scrambling to reconnect to the strongest node. I had to turn off RA because my clients were switching more smoothly themselves when they used their own criteria for the switch.
This doesn't mean that AIMesh simply becomes an AP in that case. Having the node on the same channel (which AIMesh does) makes the transition faster and more seamless. Previous posts in the 10007 firmware thread also show that AIMesh does indeed track "candidates" which have a weak signal even when RA is turned off, suggesting that it has its own internal criteria for switching nodes.

It would be nice if someone from Asus chimed in to really clarify this once and for all.

 

[arthurlien]

AiMesh is a Marketing Name. It's including RA, WiFi/Ethernet Backhaul Selection...etc functionality.

我從使用 Tapatalk 的 ASUS_Z012DA 發送

 

[RandomName23]

This doesn't mean that AIMesh simply becomes an AP in that case

Except that it does mean that. Especially if you are using Ethernet backhaul you could just setup an AP on the same SSID, band, and channel and you would have what you have by turning RA off. Now with the Aimesh realm of functions you also get some additional things like centralized management, wireless backhaul, etc. that you wouldn't get with a straight up AP. By turning off RA you are relying solely on the client to do the switching of nodes which is absolutely no different than a regular AP. Just because your clients work better with RA off doesn't change this.

 

[Richard Li]

I just play around some settings and see if the settings will propagate to the nodes....

I change the Air Time Fairness and Muti-user MIMO settings in the UI and the nvram values changed in the AP, however when I checked the NVRAM settings in the nodes, no matter how I change these 2 settings, the values in their nvram is still the same -> always enabled.

Which means that you cannot disable these 2 settings in the nodes?

 

[maxbraketorque]

AiMesh is a Marketing Name. It's including RA, WiFi/Ethernet Backhaul Selection...etc functionality.

我從使用 Tapatalk 的 ASUS_Z012DA 發送

When AiMesh is enabled, is RA automatically enabled and configured to baseline settings? Or does the user have to manually enable RA? And is SmartConnect also automatically enabled and configured with AiMesh is enabled?

 

[Quad80]

I just play around some settings and see if the settings will propagate to the nodes....

I change the Air Time Fairness and Muti-user MIMO settings in the UI and the nvram values changed in the AP, however when I checked the NVRAM settings in the nodes, no matter how I change these 2 settings, the values in their nvram is still the same -> always enabled.

Which means that you cannot disable these 2 settings in the nodes?

Nor can you WPS, it would seem. I've disabled on router with both bands, but 2.4 on node still shows WPS enabled during WiFi scan.

 

[Stephen Harrington]

Nor can you WPS, it would seem. I've disabled on router with both bands, but 2.4 on node still shows WPS enabled during WiFi scan.

This is a bit concerning, as it's a security hole I like to close. @arthurlien is this something that will be corrected in future releases and also why is it that settings such as Air Time Fairness and Multi-user MIMO don't appear to propagate to Nodes when turned "off" etc on (Parent) Router? Is this "by design" or incomplete implementation at this stage?

StephenH

 

[Quad80]

This is a bit concerning, as it's a security hole I like to close. @arthurlien is this something that will be corrected in future releases and also why is it that settings such as Air Time Fairness and Multi-user MIMO don't appear to propagate to Nodes when turned "off" etc on (Parent) Router? Is this "by design" or incomplete implementation at this stage?

StephenH

Agreed. I've raised it here a few times and have had no response. I'd assume it can't be exploited since it's not enabled at the router and the node should just "pass it through," but why it can't be disabled completely is a bit odd. I know it needs to be on to pair a node, but you should be able to turn it off after the fact.

 

[gculley01]

Except that it does mean that. Especially if you are using Ethernet backhaul you could just setup an AP on the same SSID, band, and channel and you would have what you have by turning RA off. Now with the Aimesh realm of functions you also get some additional things like centralized management, wireless backhaul, etc. that you wouldn't get with a straight up AP. By turning off RA you are relying solely on the client to do the switching of nodes which is absolutely no different than a regular AP. Just because your clients work better with RA off doesn't change this.

I always understood that APs are not supposed to be set to the same channel, though I believe I read somewhere that the radios can now detect and handle that. Is that true?

 

[Quad80]

I always understood that APs are not supposed to be set to the same channel, though I believe I read somewhere that the radios can now detect and handle that. Is that true?

I've seen arguments for both sides. I know I used to have APs on different channels and it worked fine. My brother's repeater, however, uses the same channel. From a practical POV, I don't know that it matters, at least in my experience.

 

[maxbraketorque]

I've seen arguments for both sides. I know I used to have APs on different channels and it worked fine. My brother's repeater, however, uses the same channel. From a practical POV, I don't know that it matters, at least in my experience.

Everything I've read is that setting STA's to the same channel will result in interference and speed loss/latency increase in the overlap regions. Does AiMesh set the main router and nodes all to the same channel?

 

[Quad80]

Everything I've read is that setting STA's to the same channel will result in interference and speed loss/latency increase in the overlap regions. Does AiMesh set the main router and nodes all to the same channel?

Yes. AiMesh sets everything the same. I see no way to change the nodes independently.

 

[gculley01]

Yes. AiMesh sets everything the same. I see no way to change the nodes independently.

I would imagine that through the backhaul AIMesh manages all mesh nodes as if they were one router, thus can manage everything being on the same channel efficiently. If I were to set up all nodes as APs, however, I would imagine that speed loss/latency issues would arise.